For the second time in December, a vacant home at 208 Locust Street has been set on fire. Thursday mornings blaze caused significant damage to the upper story of the house.

For the second time a vacant Turlock home has been the scene of a suspicious fire.Turlock City firefighters have twice put out blazes at 208 Locust St. within the last month.The latest fire was reported around 7:30 a.m. Thursday. The flames spread through the home’s second floor, causing extensive damage. The fire was under control in 30 minutes, but crews remained on scene for several hours tamping out hot spots and clean-up. At least three fire engines responded to the blaze.The first fire broke out the morning of Dec. 16. Fire personnel arrived to find heavy smoke billowing from the basement of the two-story house. All four city fire engines and 15 firefighters responded to that fire, which took more than an hour to control because of the basement’s construction and the amount of furniture and debris left in the house.The cause of both fires is under investigation and both have been deemed suspicious.Neighbors said the vacant home has been used by transients recently seeking shelter and warmth, but the fire department could not confirm this.Fire crews battled another blaze Thursday morning, also at a vacant home. At this one, a teenager was taken into custody and booked for arson.Turlock Police Sgt. Tony Silva said the juvenile boy broke into a home in the 1600 block of Linden Lane in an effort to get warm.The teen tore down some cabinetry and set it on fire, Silva said. The fire grew and spread throughout the home and the fire department was notified.The teen tried to flee as fire crews arrived, but was detained and turned over to police custody.Anyone with information about the Locust Street fires is asked to contact the Turlock City Fire Department at 668-5580.To contact Sabra Stafford, e-mail sstafford@turlockjournal.com or call 634-9141 ext. 2002.